Every December — while the bartenders close down our Proctor District craft beer bar, bottle shop and restaurant for the night — Peaks & Pints co-owner Pappi Swarner grabs three holiday beers, heads upstairs to his office, cranks his computer speaks to an 11 and watches holiday Youtube videos. Obviously, he can’t perform his holiday tradition this year … at Peaks & Pints. No, his holiday hell now takes place inside his home, much to the chagrin of his wife and daughter. In the spirit of giving, we offer you the chance to share his joy. Today, he pairs the three Christmas season beers below with Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, the 1970 Rankin-Bass story of how Kris Kringle came to be Santa Claus while trying to get out from under the thumb of the Burgermeister Meisterburger in Sombertown. Pappi loves the tale, but he also has problems with authority, and believes The Man is holding him down. Anyway, enjoy Peaks and Pints To-Go Christmas Beer Flight: Burgermeister Meisterburger.
Peaks and Pints To-Go Christmas Beer Flight: Burgermeister Meisterburger
Reuben’s Holiday Gose
4.3% ABV, 6 IBU
With one eye on the turkey and the other on the mistletoe, Reuben’s Brews unleashed its new Holiday Gose. This cranberry-orange variation of its award-winning gose is fermented with its house lactobacillus culture and includes 10 pounds of fresh cranberries per barrel, sweet orange zest, a touch of coriander and a hint of sea salt. This sour ale brewed with salted water and coriander, adds tart notes to already punchy olives, while the briny fruit draws out the beer’s underlying saltiness. The beer’s coriander spice matches the olives’ deep herbal notes. Beneath the eruption of flavors is a fusion of earthy and tart that lasts long on the tongue.
The Lost Abbey Gnoel De Abbey
8.5% ABV
The Lost Abbey Gnoel de Abbey is a winter warmer brewed to be lighter in body while maintaining nuanced notes of oak. Beginning with aromas of freshly brewed espresso, spices and oak, Gnoel is a fancy holiday brown ale with notes of milk chocolate, red wine barrel, vanilla and holiday spices. The finish is warm with spices, crisp coffee bitterness and a syrupy mouthfeel.
Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper
9.9% ABV
Port Brewing‘s “winter warmer” appeals to those who just want a dark, strong imperial stout with hazelnut and coffee and not “holiday spices.” This is one seriously thick, rich, naughty but nice beer with sweet hazelnut flavor.
